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Sony Ebook Store Launches in UK
After what can be called a long wait, Sony has launched it’s ebook store in the UK. This means that anyone with a wireless Sony Reader can now buy ebooks straight from their smartphone or tablet. Before this, if users wanted ebooks from the Sony ebook store, it had to be downloaded on a PC using the application’s Ebook Reader software which would sync with the reader whenever it is connected. Now it seems like that will not be such a big problem. Sony’s dedicated ebook store was launched for the USA and Canada markets in 2006 followed by a launch in Japan in 2010. However for the UK store that was set to open in October 2011, it was delayed further and now, it has just happened much to the joy of UK eb0ok readers.
The company claims that the reason it took so long to launch the ebook store is because it wanted the store to be at a higher standard for a first class consumer journey online. The company has also announced that the ebooks sold through the store are in ePub formation which should be compatible with all ereaders except the Kindle which requires Amazon’s proprietary format. This goes to say that anyone with either a smartphone or tablet can purchase ebooks from Sony’s store. Unlike how it it used to be, the books can now be downloaded straight to your device if you have the Sony Reader coupled with a WiFi connection to avoid large data charges. If you don’t please head over to the store to get Sony Reader for either your PC, Mac, iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play). Will you be ditching other ebook stores in favor of this one? Let us know with a comment below.
The Fairphone 2 was first unveiled in June earlier this year, where this particular handset carried a modular design while featuring majority of its components that have been sourced from conflict-free mines. It seems that this particular handset that you can purchase with a clear conscience has begun to ship to those who happen to live across Europe.
Fairphone announced in a blog post, “It’s been almost two years in the making, and some of the earliest buyers have been patiently waiting since July to receive their new phones. As community manager, I want to personally welcome the new batch of Fairphone owners to our community.” The initial 1,000 units are tipped to ship this month, before the other pre-orders follow in January 2016.
In terms of hardware specifications, the Fairphone 2 will run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, has a 5″ 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, with Android 5.1 Lollipop in tow. It will be a dual SIM capable handset with a microSD memory card slot and plays nice with 4G LTE networks, retailing for approximately €525 a pop.
It looks like the upcoming flagship model from Xiaomi will feature NFC support, at least based on a document that was released by China UnionPay. Just in case you are scratching your head and wondering who China UnionPay is, they happen to be the only domestic payment gateway supplier and card organization, and hence, to see them offer detailed support concerning the newly released NFC-based payment system points to the very real possibility of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 featuring NFC capability.
After all, the Xiaomi Mi 3 was also mentioned on the list, which so happens to feature NFC, and there is no mention of the Xiaomi Mi 4 which does not come with NFC. Still, such a new payment system would be the ideal tool to see the reintroduction of NFC to the flagship model.
OnePlus did make an announcement in the previous month that the Ceramic variant of the OnePlus X will be released on November 24. True to their word, they did exactly that – although only a pitiful number of units were made available, and not only that, this was through a charity auction. Thankfully for the rest of the masses who are on the lookout for this device, it has gone on sale officially already.
Needless to say, this particular variant is available only by an invitation, although do bear in mind that standard OnePlus X invites are not good here – you will still need to snag yourself a specific Ceramic variant invite before you make a purchase. OnePlus is also on the lookout to offer additional methods of picking up this smartphone, although no further details were revealed.
The OnePlus X Ceramic will be available only in select markets, where among them include Europe, India, and Hong Kong. To date, we do know that OnePlus had made only 10,000 units of the handset available. A case of the early bird getting the proverbial worm here?